LB 

1523 

L75?7 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

f|itp. ®xip^ris|l f u 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 



;«^%l»ti 



MANUAL 

OF THE 

SCHOOL LAWS 

OF THE 

STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Containing all the Essential Points Per- 
taining TO Citizens, Teachers, and 
School Officers, to Jan. 1887. 

By C. T. FOOLER, 

Gonductor of Teachers' Institutes ; author of "• Chart 

orCivil Government;" "Test Speller;" and 

•' Hints on Teaching Orthoepy." 

SECOND EDIT^ 

" NEW YOR 

. 'V'E. L. KELLOGG & 







Copyright by C. T. Pooler, 1884 and 



PREFACE. 

To know the law is the first safeguard 
against its violation. 

•It is safe to say that a large majority of all 
school district difficulties, culminating too 
often in petty law suits, and oftener still in 
social quarrels that seldom die, grow out of 
an ignorance of a few points in the school 
law. 

The object of this little classification of 
over two hundred points in our school law 
governing citizens, teachers, and school offi- 
cers is to place the same in a cheap form 
within the reach of all. 

C. T. POOLER. 

Deansville, N. Y., 

January^ 1884. 



INDEX, 



The figures in the index refer to the sections. 

School year and annual meeting, sections 

Voters at school meetings, " 

Census of children of school age, " 

School district meetings, " 

Trustees, powers and duties. " 
Teachers, powers and restrictions, " 

District Clerk, — duties, " 

District Collector,— duties, " 

Librarian, " 

Town Clerk, duties, " 

Supervisor, " 

School Commissioner, "• 
Superintendentof Public Instruction, '' 

Teachers' Institutes, 

Voters at school meetings, 

The Teachers' Rights, 

Children's Rights, 47 

Parents' Rights, 49 

EXPLANATION. 

The figures at the end of statements denote the 
page in the Code of Public Instruction of 1868, on 
which will be found the law embraced in the state- 
ment. Small figures at the end of sections indicate 
the page in Code of 1879. 



I to 


4 


5& 


143 




6 


7 to 


18 


19 to 


55 


56 to 


87 


88 to 


91 


92 to 


100 


lOI 




102 to 


107 


108 to 


119 


120 to 


132 


133 to 


140 


Page 


39 




41 




43 



NEW YORK STATE 

School Laws. 



THE SCHOOL YEAR AND THE ANNUAL 
SCHOOL MEETING. 

Section I. " An%nnual school meeting of 
each school district shall be held the last 
Tuesday of August in each year, and unless 
the hour and the place thereof shall have 
been fixed by a vote of a previous district 
meeting, the same shall be held in the school- 
house at seven o'clock in the evening." Laws 
of 1883. 

" This act shall take effect on the first day 
of January, 1884." 

§2. An act in relation to the election of 
officers in certain school districts (those con- 
taining 300 or more children of school age), 
is amended and is as follows : 

"Such election shall be held on the Wednes- 
day next following the last Tuesday in August 
5 



6 New York State School Laws. 

in each year, between the hours of twelve 
o'clock, mid-day, and four o'clock in the after- 
noon. All district officers must be elected 
by ballot." Laws of 1883. 

§3. The school j^^ear expires on the twen- 
tieth day of August in each year. 

*' The trustees of each school district shall, 
between the twentieth day of August and 
the last Tuesday of August in each year, 
make and direct to the School Commissioner, 
a report in writing, dated on the twenty-first 
day of August of the year in which it is 
made, and shall sign and certify it, and de- 
liver it to the clerk of the town in which the 
school district is situated." Laws of 1884. 

^4. " The annual meeting of the Board of 
Education of every union free school district, 
shall be held on the first Tuesday of Septem- 
ber in each year." Laws of 1883. 

VOTERS AT SCHOOL DISTRICT 
MEETINGS. 

§5 By the laws of 1886, there are three 

classes of persons who may vote, as follows : 

" Every person of full age residing in any 



Voters at School District Meetings. 7 

neighborhood or school district, and entitled 
to hold lands in this state, who owns or hires 
real property in such neighborhood or school 
district, liable to taxation for school purposes, 
and every resident of such neighborhood or 
district, who is a citizen of the United States, 
above the age of twenty-one years, and who 
is the parent of a child or children of school 
age, some one or more of whom shall have 
attended the district school for a period of at 
least eight weeks within one year preced- 
ing, and every such person not being the 
parent who shall have permanently residing 
with him or her such child or children, and 
every such resident and citizen as aforesaid, 
who owns any personal property assessed on 
the last preceding assessment-roll of the 
town, exceeding fifty dollars in value, exclu- 
sive of such as is exempt from execution, 
and no others, shall be entitled to vote at 
any school meeting held in such neighbor- 
hood or district." Laws of 1886. 

The ownership of real estate by a wife, in 
her own name, does not make her husband 



8 New York State School Laws. 

a voter in the district, even though he paid 
taxes on the property, or paid the purchase 
money therefor. 561. (Code of 1879.) Supt. 
A, B. Weaver. 

CENSUS OF CHILDREN OF SCHOOL AGE. 

§6. The enumeration of children of school 
age, over five and under twenty-one years of 
age, residing in the district, shall be taken on 
the thirtieth day of June in each year. Laws 
of 1883. 

SCHOOL MEETINGS, 

§7. A special district meeting shall be held 
whenever called by the trustees. The notice 
thereof shall state the purpose for which it is 
called. Notice of at least five days shall be 
given, and must be served on each inhab- 
itant of the district. But an annual meeting 
may adopt a resolution prescribing some 
other mode of giving notice, which shall con- 
tinue in force till resiinded. 96, 40. 31. 

§8. A district clerk cannot authorize any 
other person to call a school meeting. 
329. 380. 



School Meetings. 9 

^9 A district meeting is not bound by 
strict parliamentan' rules ; it makes its own. 
338. 418. 

A District Meeting has no power to vote a 
tax to purchase an organ for the use of the 
school. — Supt. A. B. Weaver. 1869. 

§10. A chairman of a school district meet- 
ing is entitled to a vote on all questions in- 
volving the levying of a tax. 435. 557. 

§11. When a new district is to be formed 
the School Commissioner shall prepare the 
notice ; and six days' notice shall be given. 
92. 201. 

§12. A tax for the purchase of a site for a 
school-house, cannot be voted to be raised by 
installments. 114, 378. 482. 

§13. A tax for building, hiring, or repair- 
ing a school-house ma}^ be voted to be raised 
by equal installments. The vote must be 
taken by recording the ayes and noes. 121, 
378, 436. 227. 

§14. A moderator (chairman) of a district 
meeting has the same right to vote as though 
he did not preside. 439. 557, 561. 



10 New York State School Laws. 

§15. Trustees of a union free school must 
be elected by ballot. 427. 550, 

§16. A school district has no power to vote 
a tax for building a school-house and public 
hall combined. Supt. Gilmore. 1874. 427. 

§17. An election will not be set aside be- 
cause of illegal votes when they do not affect 
the result. 433. 390. 

§18. "No school-house shall be built in 
any school district in this state, until the 
plan of such school-house, so far as ventila- 
tion, heat, and lighting are concerned, shall be 
approved in writing by the School Com- 
missioner," in whose district such school- 
house is to be built. Laws of 1883. 

TRUSTEES. 

§19. A school trustee holds his office one 
year, and till his successor is elected ; where 
there are three trustees, the office is held 
three years. 126. 37. 

§20. If a district changes from three trus- 
tees to one, it can have but one trustee there- 
after, (126) ; until by a two-thirds vote at an 



Trustees. ii 

annual meeting, it shall resolve to have three 
trustees instead of one. Laws of 1878. 38. 

^21. Neither the town supervisor nor a 
school commissioner can be trustee ; and no 
trustee can hold the office of district clerk, 
collector, or librarian. 125, 37. 

§22. A trustee may resign in writing to 
the supervisor of his town. 128. 39. 

§23. If a vacancy in the office of trustee is 
not filled within thirty days after its occur- 
rence, by the district, the supervisor of the 
town may fill the same by appointment. 
127. 38. 

§24. A trustee may be removed from office 
for willful neglect of duties, by the Supt. of 
Public Instruction. 420, 422, 538. 

§25. A trustee cannot be teacher m his 
own district. 416. Also decision of Supt. 
A. B. Weaver, 1871. 546. 

§26. A trustee may appoint a district clerk, 
collector, or librarian, to fill a vacancy in the 
office. 127. 39. 

§27. The trustee has the sole custody of 



12 New York State School Laws. 

the school-house and appurtenances, (136, 
358), and of the district library. 202. 242. 

§28. The trustee is the only person em- 
powered to exercise authority as to what 
text-books shall be used in the common 
school. 27, 28. 

§29. The trustee alone has authority to 
expel a pupil from school for habitual mis- 
conduct, or when afflicted with a contagious 
disease. 131, 132. 237. 

§30. A trustee may permit the school- 
house, when unoccupied, to be used for edu- 
cational purposes or for religious meetings ; 
but if one of three trustees objects to such 
use it cannot be permitted. 148,348,358. 253. 

§31. All pupils in all schools supported by 
public money, or under State control, shall 
be instructed in physiology and hygiene, 
with special reference to the effects of alco- 
holic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics upon 
the human system. And no certificate to 
teach shall be granted to any person who 
has not passed a satisfactory examination in 
said studies. Laws of 1884. 



Trustees. 13 

§32. The trustees may expend in necessary- 
and proper repairs of each school-house un- 
der their charge a sum not exceeding twenty 
dollars in any one year ; and they may also 
expend a sum, not exceeding fifty dollars, in 
the erection of necessary outbuildings, when 
the district is wholly unprovided with such 
buildings, upon the direction of the school 
commissioner in whose district such school- 
house is situated, or of the State Superinten- 
dent of Public Instruction. They may also 
make any repairs, and abate any nuisances, 
pursuant to the direction of the school com- 
missioner as hereinbefore provided, and pro- 
vide fuel, pails, brooms, and other implements 
necessary to keep the schoolhouse or houses 
clean and make them reasonably comfortable 
for use, and not provided for by a vote of the 
district ; and may also provide for building 
fires and cleaning the school-room by arrange- 
ment with the teacher or otherwise. They 
shall provide the bound blank-books for the 
entering of their accounts and the keeping of 
the school lists, the records of the district, 



14 New York State School Laws. 

and the proceedings of district and trustee 
meetings, and they may expend in the pur- 
chase of dictionary, maps, globes, or other 
school apparatus, a sum not exceeding fifteen 
dollars in any one year. Whenever it shall 
be necessary for the due accommodation of 
the children of the district, they may hire 
temporarily any room or rooms for the keep- 
ing of schools therein. Any expenditure 
made or liability incurred in pursuance of 
this section shall be a charge upon the dis- 
trict. Laws of 1886. 

§33. When directed by the school commis- 
sioner the trustees may abate any nuisance, 
not to exceed in cost twenty-five dollars, and 
expend two hundred dollars in repairing a 
school-house, and levy a tax for the same. 
22, 146. 252. 

They may at any time levy a tax for the 
balance of teacher's wages, after the public 
money has been expended. 137, 145; 

§34, The trustee is the only person author- 
ized to make a legal contract for the district, 
or to accept work done, he therefore must 



Trustees. 15 

be associated with all committees appointed 
by the district for building or repairing a 
school-house, etc. 418, 419, 414, 139. 536. 

He must accept a new building erected for 
the district before it can become the legal 
property of the district. (359-) Trustees 
have no right to sell an old school-house, 
when a new one has been built, unless in- 
structed to do so by a vote of the district. 

359- 456. 

§35. Trustees have sole power to hire 
teachers and determine the wages to be paid 
(136, 141), and they are not bound by a vote 
of the district in regard to the same. 395, 

397- 518. 

^36, A trustee cannot legally employ a 
teacher who has not an unexpired license to 
teach (140) ; and if he does so, the teaching 
by such a person is a private, not a public 
school, which cannot be paid for by tax or 
public money. 133, 362. 238, 456, 

§37. Trustees cannot legally employ a 
teacher who is related to either of them within 
two degrees, without the approval of a two- 



1 6 New York State School Laws. 

thirds vote of those present and voting at a 
district meeting duly called. 136. 242, 523. 

The disability of relationship does not ap- 
ply to union free schools. 401. 

A sole trustee cannot hire a teacher for a 
longer time than the close of the term com- 
mencing next preceding the time of the ex- 
piration of his office, without first having the 
approval of the majority vote at a district 
meeting. Three trustees and boards of edu- 
cation may hire a teacher for one year, but 
not for a longer time. Laws of 1879. 242. 

§38. Trustees may dismiss a teacher for a 
violation of contract (406), and for gross im- 
morality in conduct or language in the school- 
room. 403. 526. 

§39. The trustee has sole authority to allow 
non-resident pupils, or adult persons resid- 
ing in his district, to attend the school, and 
to fix the terms of tuition ; the consent 
should be in writing. 131, 352, 354. 437. 

§40. Any trustee who applies, directs, or 
consents to the application of public money, 
or money raised by tax, to the payment of 



Trustees. i7 

an unqualified teacher, thereby commits a 
misdemeanor. 133. 239. 

§41. Trustees may, in certain cases, make 
an original assessment of land, by giving 
twenty days' notice to the party concerned. 

i3o, 373, 372. 294. 

§42. The town assessment roll, as review- 
ed and adopted by the assessors, is complete 
as the last assessment roll of the town for all 
school purposes. 374, 384- 479. 

§43. Trustees may modify or correct a 
tax-list any time before delivery to the col- 
lector. 167. 271. 

§44. A school district cannot take a per- 
petual lease for the site of a school-house. 

367. 470. 

§45. A warrant for the collection of a tax 
voted by the district shall not be delivered to 
the collector till the thirty-first day after the 
tax is voted ; but a warrant for the collection 
of a tax not voted may be delivered to the 
collector at any time. 167, 193. 53. 

§46. Any person who shall willfully dis- 
turb, interrupt, or disquiet any district school, 



1 8 New York State School Laws. 

or school-meeting in session, or any persons 
assembled with the permission of the trus- 
tees of the district, in any district school- 
house, for the purpose of giving or receiving 
instruction, shall forfeit twenty-five dollars. 
234, 235. 74. 

§47. Trustees have no power to levy a tax 
to repair a condemned school-house. Supt. 

A. B. Weaver, 1871. 462. 

§48. A school-house site cannot be chang- 
ed by a vote at an annual school meeting. 
It can be done only at a special school-meet- 
ing called for that purpose. Supt. A. B. 
Weaver, 1869. 466. 

§49. Trustees cannot make an original 
assessment of railroad property. Supt. A. 

B. Weaver, 1873. 501. 

§50. A trustee cannot legally give his con- 
sent for the alteration of his school district, 
when such alteration would set himself or his 
property into another district. 313. 396. 

§51. Parcels of land bought of one or more 
parties, but all connected with the original 
farm upon which the owner resides, are tax- 



Teachers. ig 

able as one farm in the district of his resi- 
dence. 380. 489. 

§52. Trustees have power to levy a tax 
for building a school-house in place of one 
condemned, without a vote of the district 
(mode of procedure). 23. 10, 

^53- Trustees have full discretionary pow- 
er in the matter of prescribing a course of 
study in the school under their charge. Supt. 
A. B, Weaver, 1870. 438. 

§ '4. A trustee cannot be permitted to fix 
his own price for fuel furnished by himself 
for the district. 424. 535, 

§55. The official act of two trustees, with- 
out notifying or consulting the third, is 
illegal and void. 416 521. 
TEACHERS. 

§56. In law a qualified teacher is a person 
who holds an unexpired license to teach ; 
without such license, he is tmqiialified. 132, 

133. 41. 

No person shall be deemed to be qualified 
who is under the age of sixteen years. Laws 
of 1885. 



20 New York State School Laws. 

§57. A teacher cannot make a legal con- 
tract for a school unless he holds an unex- 
pired license to teach. 133. 529. 

^58. A teacher who commences a school 
without a license, is liable to be discharged 
at any moment ; by so doing he annuls his 
contract, which is not renewed by his obtain- 
ing a license subsequently ; he must make a 
new contract. 410, 411. 529. 

§59. A teacher cannot be legally employed 
in a school if he is related within two de- 
grees, by blood or marriage, to any trustee of 
the district. See §37. 524, 242. 

§60. Uncles and cousins of any person are 
not related to him within two degrees. 401. 

250. 

§61. A contract made by a teacher with 
trustees separately, is illegal and void ; there 
must be a meeting of the Board of Trustees 
to make a legal contract. 396, 397, 398. 519. 

§62. A teacher cannot make up lost time 
by teaching on a holiday, without the con- 
sent of the trustees, 402. 522. 

§63. The legal holdays are : New Year's 



Teachers. 21 

Day, Washington's Birthday, Decoration 
Day, Fourth of July, General Election Day, 
Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. 
Also any other day that has been set apart 
by the state, or nation, as a day of fasting 
and prayer. Laws of 1875. 92, 

§64. A teacher cannot legally close his 
school for a single day without the consent 
of the trustees ; if he does so, be abandons 
his contract. 406. 528. 

(Note. — I am informed that the Depart- 
ment has held that if the school be closed 
temporarily, on account of the sudden illness 
of the teacher, such closing without the con- 
sent of the trustee does not forfeit the con- 
tract.) 

§65, A teacher m.ay close his school to at- 
tend the teachers' institute in the county in 
which he is teaching, without violating his 
contract, and he is entitled to full wages for 
such attendance at the institute. 226. 327. 

§66. A teacher has no authority to expel a 
pupil from school ; the trustee alone has 
such power. 131, 132. 237. 



22 New York State School Laws. 

§67. In union free school districts a pupil 
may be expelled by orde7' of the Board of 
Education. 431. 548. 

§68. A teacher may inflict corporal pun- 
ishment upon a pupil for the purpose of cor- 
rection. 408, 409. 506. 

§69. The infliction of cruel punishment is 
good cause for annuling a teacher's certifi- 
cate. 407. 529. 

§70. The Department will annul a teach- 
er's certificate for cruel and unreasonable dis- 
cipline in the government of a school. 407. 

529. 

§71. The teacher is legally responsible for 
the safe-keeping of the school register. 411. 
512. 

§72. The refusal to grant a certificate be- 
cause of the teacher's habits of profane swear- 
ing, is justified. Supt. A. B. Weaver, 1874. 
510. 

§73. The failure of a teacher to produce a 
certificate of qualification, demanded by the 
trustee, justifies the discharge of the teacher. 
Supt. N. Gilmour, 1876. 529. 



Teachers. 23 

§74. The authority of trustees and of 
teachers over pupils ceases after the close of 
the school and their departure from the 
school premises. Supt. N. Gilmour, 1S75. 

434- 

§75. A teacher's license will be revoked 
for unjustifiable severity in corporal punish- 
ment. Supt. A. B. Weaver, 1872. 529. 

§76 Trustees may summarily dismiss a 
teacher for a violation of his contract, or for 
gross immorality in the school. 402, 403. 526. 

§77. A teacher's certificate may be annull- 
ed, if on a re-examination by the commis- 
sioner, he be found incompetent. 34. 10. 

§78. On charges made affecting a teacher's 
moral character, after ten days' notice to the 
teacher, the commissioner must, if on an ex- 
amination he find the charges sustained, 
annul the teacher's license by whomsoever 
granted ; and if it be a state certificate, or a 
normal school diploma, he must forthwith 
notify the State superintendent of all the 
facts in the case. 35. 10. 

§79. Holders of State certificates are not 



24 New York State School Laws. 

exempt from examination by local authori- 
ties, if the trustees require it. 411. 510. 

§80. Teachers have no authority to change 
the text-books in a school, or to introduce 
new ones. 27, 28. 364. 

A teacher cannot dictate as to the time and 
place for his examination. 510. 

A teacher's license should be annulled for 
intemperance. 410. 506. (Code of 1879.) 

^81. A contract, illegal in its inception, 
may be ratified by acquiescence of all the 
trustees and fulfillment by the teacher. Supt. 
A. B. Weaver. 51^. 

§82. A teacher is not entitled to compen- 
sation for building fires if it is not mentioned 
in the contract. Supt. A. B. Weaver, 1868. 
513. 

§83. The trustees are ordered and directed 
to pay the teacher for time spent, during the 
term, in attendance at a Teacher's Institute. 
Supt. A. B. Weaver, 1869. 514. 

§84. Trustees cannot offset a private claim 
against the wages of a teacher for services in 
teaching. Supt. A. B. Weaver, 1873. 514. 



Teachers, 25 

^85. A commissioner has no right to with- 
hold a certificate from a teacher found com- 
petent, because he intends to teach some 
particular school disapproved by the com- 
missioner. Supt. A. B. Weaver, 1S69. 509. 

§86. The annulment of a teacher's license 
for want of ability to teach, without a re- 
examination, is illegal. Supt. A. B. Weaver, 
1S69, 507. 

. §87. In law a " month" means a calendar 
month of thirty days. If a teacher hires out 
to teach by the month, he must teach thirty 
days, less the Sundays, legal holidays and 
the Saturdays, to which the teacher is en- 
titled, occurring therein. 402. 522, 

I87-J-. When a school is closed for repair- 
ing school-house, during term, the teacher is 
entitled to same wages during such time, as 
though it had not closed. Supt. W. B. Rug- 
gles, 18S5. 

When a pupil is suspended for absence. — 
if the parent excuses the absence, the pupil 
must be admitted *o the school. Neither 
teacher nor trustee has any right to demand 



26 New York State School Laws. 

the cause of such absence. Supt. Ruggles, 
1885. 

When a school is closed by the authorities 
because of a contagious disease in the vicin- 
ity, the teacher is entitled to full pay during 
such time as the school is closed. Supt. Jas. 
A. Morrison. 1886. 

A teacher has the right to prohibit the use 
of tobacco on the school premises. Supt. 
Jas, E. Morrison, 1886. 

DISTRICT CLERK. 

§88. The district clerk must make and 
preserve the records of the proceedings of all 
school m2etings in the district in a book pro- 
vided for that purpose. 129, 235 

He must post notices of all school meet- 
ings, (and if an adjourned special meeting is 
for a longer time than one month, must re- 
post notices for such meeting), at least five 
days before such meeting (129) ; if it be for 
a special meeting, he must notify each inhab- 
itant of the district by reading to him the 
notice, stating the objects of such meeting. 
94, 96. 



District Clerk. 27 

§89. He must notify all persons elected to 
district offices of their election, and report 
the names and post-office address of such 
persons to the town clerk of his town or for- 
feit five dollars. 129. 235. 

§90. A district clerk cannot appoint a 
deputy to act for him, 329, 342. 380. 

§91. He must deliver all district books 
and papers in his possession to his successor 
in office, under a penalty of fifty dollars. 
129. 39. 

DISTRICT COLLECTOR. 

§92. The district collector must give a 
bond with sureties, accepted by the trustees, 
before he can legally enter upon the duties 
of his office (193) ; and by neglect to execute 
such bond he vacates his office. (127.) 38. 

§93. If a collector, not having executed 
the required bond, receives a warrant from 
the trustees for the collection of taxes, he 
cannot enforce the collection from those who 
refuse to pay, and the trustees become liable 
for all losses which the district may thereby 
sustain (303). Also letter from Supt. A. B. 



28 New York State School Laws. 

Weaver, case, dist. No. ii, Paris, Oneida 
Co. 382. 

§94. The collector is the treasurer of the 
district, and has no right to pay out moneys 
except on the written order of the trustees, 
(302, 303) ; and he should not pay over 
moneys to the trustees. 297. 

§95. The collector must give two weeks' 
notice, posted in three places in the district, 
one of which must be on the school-house 
door, before he can collect taxes ; but during 
said two weeks he may receive taxes, taking 
one per cent, fees thereon. In case he levies 
on and sells property, he has ten cents per 
mile traveling fees. Laws of 1871. 53. 

§96. Any goods and chattels lawfully in 
the possession of a delinquent tax-payer, 
may be seized and sold by the collector, 
though such delinquent be not the lawful 
owner thereof (191) ; and no claim of prop- 
erty made thereto by any other person shall 
be available to prevent such sale. 192. 291. 

§97. If a trustee assess the property of a 
person not taxable, the collector is liable as 



Librarian. 29 

a trespasser if he collect a tax thereon. 

444. 573, 

§98. A collector is responsible for all losses 
to the district occasioned by his neglect of 
duty. 302. 297. 

§99. A collector's warrant may be renewed 
once by the trustees ; but any subsequent re- 
newal requires the written consent of the 
supervisor. 196. 296. 

§100. A collector is not under any circum- 
stances authorized to sell real estate. 303. 334. 

LIBRARIAN. 
§101. The librarian has the supervision of 
the school library (130), and cannot be trus- 
tee (125). For full particulars as to district 
libraries read from page 196 to 211 in the 
Code of i36S. 56. 

TOWN CLERK'S DUTIES UNDER THE 
SCHOOL LAW. 
§102. It is the duty of the town clerk to 
preserve all books, records, and papers of 
his office touching common schools. To re- 
ceive from the supervisor and record the 



30 New York State School Laws. 

certificates of apportionment of school 
moneys to the town ; to forthwith notify the 
trustees of the several school districts of the 
fact. 72. 181. 

§103. To see that all trustees deposit with 
him at the proper time, their annual reports, 
and to deliver the same to the school com- 
missioner ; to deliver to the trustees all 
blanks, books, and papers, left with him for 
that purpose by school officers. 72. 182. 

§104. To receive and record the accounts 
of the supervisor of all school moneys pre- 
sented to the town auditors and their action 
thereon ; to record in the same book the 
supervisor's final account of such moneys, 
and to deliver a copy of the same to such 
supervisor's successor ; to receive from the 
outgoing supervisor and file and record in 
the same book the county treasurer's certifi- 
cate of the approval of such successor's bond. 
72. 182. 

§105. To act when called upon in the 
alteration of school districts ; to receive and 
preserve the books, papers, and records of 



Town Clerk's Duties, Etc. 31 

any dissolved school districts. 73. 183. 

§106. To perform any other duties im- 
posed by the school law. 73. 183. 

§107. His services and expenses for such 
duties are a town charge, to be audited as 
such and paid by the town. 73. 183. 

DUTIES OF SUPERVISOR UNDER THE 
SCHOOL LAW. 

§108. The supervisor shall receive and 
copy the school commissioner's certificate of 
apportionment of school moneys for his 
town ; file the original certificate with the 
town clerk ; execute a bond in double the 
amount of such moneys, accepted by the 
county treasurer, draw said moneys from 
him and pay the same to teachers on the or- 
der of trustees. 62. 172. 

§109. He can use no discretion in the 
matter of paying over such money on a trus- 
tee's order. 412. 474. 

§110. He shall in like manner receive and 
disburse moneys from gospel and school 
lots. 64. v3. 



32 New York State School Laws. 

§111. He shall on the first Tuesday in 
March report to the county treasurer all 
moneys in his hands not drawn out, and the 
districts for which it is held. 68. 23. 

§112. He must sue for and receive all pen- 
alties which under the school law inure to the 
benefit of common schools in his town. 
69. 179. 

§113. He may accept the resignation of a 
trustee (128) ; and after a vacancy of thirty 
days in the office of trustee in his town may 
appoint a trustee to fill the same. 127. 39. 

§114. In concurrence with the school com- 
missioner he may condemn a school-house as 
unfit for use. 22. 9. 

§115. He shall when legally called on, 
act with the school commissioner and the 
town clerk in the matter of the alteration of 
a school district. 69. 179, 

§116. His written consent is necessary for 
changing the site of a school house, stating 
that in his opinion such change is necessary, 
before the change can be made. 122. 36. 

§117. His written consent is necessary for 



Duties of Supervisor, Etc. 33 

the renewal of a collector's warrant after the 
same has been previously renewed. 197. 2g5. 

§118. He must sell the property of a dis- 
solved school district, 89. igs. 

§119. In certain contingencies he has 
power to call a district meeting. 97. 206. 

SCHOOL COMMISSIONER. 

§120. The school commissioner is elected 
at the annual election in November ; enters 
upon the duties of his office the first day of 
January next following, and holds his office 
three years and until his successor qualifies. 

19- 7. 

^121. He may vacate his office by filing 
his resignation with the county clerk, or by 
removing from the county, or by accepting 
the office of supervisor, town clerk, or trus- 
tee of a school district. 20. 

A vacancy in the office may be filled by ap- 
pointment by the county judge ; if there be 
no county judge, the State Superintendent 
shall make the appointment. 20. 7. 

^122. For certain specified causes a school 



34 New York State School Laws. 

commissioner may be removed from office, 
or may have his salary withheld by the State 
Superintendent. i6. 2i. 8. 

After the first day of October, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-five, every school com- 
missioner shall receive an annual salary of 
one thousand dollars. Laws of 1885. 

§123. He cannot act as an agent for any 
author, publisher, or bookseller, nor receive 
any gift for his influence in recommending 
or procuring the use of any book, or school 
apparatus, or furniture of any kind whatever ; 
any violation of this act is a misdemeanor, 
and will subject the commissioner to removal 
from office. 21. 8. 

§124. It is the school commissioner's duty 
to examine and license persons to teach. (23.) 
To visit all schools in his district as often in 
each year as shall be practicable. (22.) To 
annually hold a teacher's institute in his 
county. (225.) To distribute all school 
blanks, papers, and registers among his sev- 
eral school districts. To collect the trustees' 
annual reports and report abstracts there- 



School Commissioner. 35 

from to the State Superintendent at the times 
prescribed. (40.) To apportion the school 
moneys among his districts, according to in- 
structions, on the third Tuesday in March in 
each year, (54.) To amend if necessary the 
records of school district boundaries, 22, 

319- 8. 

^125. He may re-examine a teacher, and 
if he find him deficient in learning or ability, 
annul his certificate. 23, 34. 10. 

§126. It is his duty to examine any charges 
affecting a teacher's moral character (23), 
giving the teacher at least ten days' notice 
prior to a hearing (36), and if the charges are 
sustained, to annul such teacher's certificate 
and to declare him unfit to teach. 24, 35. 10. 

§127. Every school commissioner has 
power to take afladavits and administer oaths 
in all matters pertaining to common schools, 
but without charge or fee. 3S, 10, 

§128. School commissioners alone have 
authority to form or alter school districts 
(319) ; and the order for such alteration must 
recite the cor.sent or refusal of the trus- 



36 New York State School Laws. 

tees of the affected districts. 310, 318. 398. 

§129. The annulment of a school district 
rests with the commissioner (320) ; and a dis- 
trict is not annulled until all its parts are an- 
nexed to adjoining districts. 318. 404. 

§130. The commissioner must call the first 
meeting for the erection of a new school dis- 
trict. 92. 201. 

§131. He may direct trustees to abate any 
nuisance upon school premises, at a cost not 
to exceed twenty-five dollars ; and may 
direct the trustees to repair a school-house, at 
a cost not to exceed two hundred dollars. 
22. 9. 

^132. He may in concurrence with the 
supervisor of the town condemn a school as 
unfit for use for school purposes. 22. 9. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUC- 
TION. 

§133. The oflSce of the State Superinten- 
dent of Public Instruction is continued and 
the term of said ofl!ice shall be three years, 
commencing hereafter on the seventh day of 



Superintendent of Public Instruction. 37 

April. Such superintendent shall be elected 
by joint ballot of the Senate and Assembly 
on the second Wednesday of February next 
preceding the expiration of the term of the 
then incumbent of said office, and on the 
second Wednesday of February next after 
the occurrence of any vacancy in the office, 
(1886.) 

He shall appoint a deputy superintendent* 
In case of a vacancy in the office, the deputy 
superintendent shall act as superintendent, 
and in case of a vacancy in both offices at the 
same time, the governor shall appoint a sup- 
erintendent. 2. Laws of 1S83. 

^134. He is, ex-officio, a trustee of Cornell 
University and of the New York Asylum for 
Idiots, a Regent of the University, and Chair- 
man of the Executive Committee of the State 
Normal School at Albany. He has the sup- 
ervision of all the other normal schools and 
the common schools in the State, and pro- 
vides for the education of Indian children of 
the State. 4, 2. 

§135. He must submit to the Legislature 



38 New York State School Laws. 

an annual report, stating the condition of the 
common schools and of all other schools and 
institutions under his supervision and visita- 
tion, the estimates and accounts of expendi- 
tures of school moneys, and his apportion- 
ment of school moneys. 15. 3. 

§136. He may for certain causes remove a 
school commissioner from office (16, 21), or 
withold his order for the commissioner's 
salary, which being withholden, shall be for- 
feited. 21. 5. 

§137. He may for certain causes remove a 
trustee from office. 420. 422. 5. 

§138. He may grant or revoke certificates 
of qualification to teach. 15. 5. 

§139. " All questions relating to the hold- 
ing of school district meetings, and any and 
all official acts of school officers, trustees, 
commissioners, supervisors, or others, relat- 
ing to the conduct of common schools, or 
concerning any matter, act, or duty, required 
or performed, under the law providing for 
the organization and maintenance of common 
schools, or any law relating or pertaining 



Superintendent of Public Instruction. 39 

thereto, may be presented on appeal to the 
superintendent of public instruction." 229 
and 452. 

§140. The decision of such superintendent 
shall be final and conclusive, and not subject 
to question or review in any place or court 
whatever. 229, 452. 

TEACHERS' INSTITUTES, 

§141. All schools in school districts and 
parts of school districts, not included within 
the boundaries of an incorporated city, shall 
be closed during the time a teachers' institute 
shall be in session in the same county in 
which such schools are situated. Laws of 
1885. 

§142, The statute provides that " all 
schools in school districts and parts of school 
districts not included within the boundaries 
of an incorporated city shall be closed during 
the time a teachers' institute shall be in ses- 
sion in the same county in which such schools 
are situated," etc. It may be noticed that 
this is not advisory language, but mandatory. 



40 New York State School Laws. 

A trustee is not at liberty to continue the 
school during the week an institute is being 
held. He cannot pay a teacher for teaching 
during such week. The law does provide, 
however, that a teacher shall be given the 
time for attending the institute without de- 
duction of pay. Any contract, therefore, 
entered into between the trustee and teacher 
which is in violation of this statute is void to 
that extent at least. It is the purpose of the 
law to bring all the teachers into the insti- 
tutes, and to that end it provides that there 
shall be no school held during the time of the 
continuance of the institute and that the dis- 
trict shall pay the wages of the teacher dur- 
ing such time, in order that such teacher may 
be able to attend the institute. On the other 
hand, a teacher is entitled to pay during the 
institute week only for such time as he may 
attend the same. If present but one day, he 
cannot draw but one day's pay. And if there 
should be a case where a teacher is so devoid 
of moral sense as to undertake to deceive the 
commissioner or trustee, the case would be a 



Teachers' Institutes. 41 

very proper one for the revocation of the 
license to teach. Not only the letter, but the 
spirit and intent of the law upon this 
subject must be fully observed and the De- 
partment will sustain the commissioners in 
compelling such observance. Supt. A. S. 
Draper, 1886. 

voters at school meetings. 

See Section 5. 

§143. By the provisions of the act quoted, 
there are four classes of persons entitled to 
vote at school meetings in this state. 

1st. Every person of full age, who is a resi- 
dent of the district, etititled to hold lands in this 
state who either owns or hires real estate in the 
district liable to taxation for school purposes. 

2d. Every residejtt of the district, who is a 
citizen of the United States, 21 years of age, 
and who is the parent of a child of school age, 
provided such child shall have attended the 
district school for a period of at least eight 
weeks within one year preceding. 

3d. Every resident of the district, a citizen 
of the United States, 21 years of age, not 



42 New York State School Laws. 

being the parent, who shall have permanently 
residing with him or her a child of school 
age, which shall have attended the district 
school for a period of at least eight weeks 
within one year preceding. 

4th. Every resident and citizen of full age, 
who owns any personal property assessed on 
the last preceding assessment roll of the 
town, exceeding fifty dollars in value exclu- 
sive of property exempt from execution. 

In either class the voter may be viale or 
female. In the second class both father and 
mother are entitled to vote. In the third 
class (cases of children residing with others 
than their parents) the phrase " him or her " 
in the statute must be held to limit the suff- 
rage to one person only, and that the head of 
the household. Therefore where husband and 
wife living together have such a child residing 
with them, the wife is not on that account 
entitled to vote, although she may be for 
other reasons. 

A. S. Draper, 
Superintendent of Public Insti'uction. 



Appendix. 43 



THE TEACHER'S RIGHTS, 

1. The teacher has sole authority in the 
school-room and upon the school premises 
during school hours, as against all other per- 
sons or disturbin.g causes whatsoever. This 
is guaranteed by statute. Neither the parent 
nor the trustee can violate this sacred right 
with impunity. The penalty is fixed, cer- 
tain, and severe. 

This right carries with it the responsibility 
of a protecting care of all school property 
from injury or defacement. Hence the duty 
to see that every injury is promptly repaired, 
and by timely suggestions to inculcate in the 
minds of the pupils the principles of good 
taste as to their surroundings, correct prin- 
ciples, and their own moral obligations as to 
the property of others. 

2. It is the teacher's right to control the 
seating of the pupils, and to change the same 
whenever the interests of the school de- 
mand it. 



44 New York State School Laws. 

To organize the school according to his 
own judgment ; to arrange classes, times, 
and plans of recitation, and to change the 
same. The duty under this right is to give 
to each pupil an equal proportionate share of 
the time and attention of the teacher. Its 
abuse is to rob the little ones of such time, 
and to bestow it where it is less needed, upon 
the more advanced classes, which is a great 
wrong. To see that each pupil has ample 
time allotted for study between recitations. 

3. It is the teacher's right and duty to use 
the best improved methods in teaching with 
which he is familiar, whether it be an inno- 
vation or not. (This may require careful 
discretion and tact in some localities.) Hence 
the teacher's duty to read, study, take the 
papers, and keep well up with the improve- 
ments of the age in which he "lives, moves," 
and teaches. 

4. Morally. — The teacher has a right to a 
suitable, comfortable school-room, properly 
seated and lig^hted, and means for perfect 
ventilation for himself and pupils ; also, all 



Appendix, 45 

the necessary appliances and implements 
with which to teach, illustrate and explain to 
younger minds. This includes blackboards, 
globes, charts, maps, dictionary, etc. This 
right cannot be enforced. Its fulfillment 
may be aided or attained, perhaps, by judi- 
cious persuasion. 

5. The teacher has a right to the respect, 
kind regard, and confidence of his pupils. 
This may be secured by a corresponding re- 
gard of the teacher, manifested towards his 
pupils at all times. 

6. The teacher has a right to the respect 
and hearty co-operation of the patrons of the 
school, to sustain and encourage him in all 
his labors for the welfare of their children. 

7. By legal decisions based upon common 
law, the teacher stands in loco pa7 entis , that 
is, in the place of the parent. The largest 
parental rights, privileges, and authority are 
hereby transferred to the teacher in the 
school-room, carrying with them correspond- 
ing responsibilities. The teacher should re- 
member, however, that he is not possessed of 



46 New York State School Laws 

the natural feelings of affection and sympa- 
thy of a parent towards a pupil, to modify or 
restrain him in his actions in any given 
emergency. The teacher has a right to adopt 
any and all necessary means and wholesome 
regulations for the conduct and management 
of the school, as a whole ; for the classes, 
recitations, study^ and recreations, including 
all proper correctives for delinquencies in 
study or deportment. Among these means 
the legal decisions recognize the teacher's 
right to inflict corporal punishment, except 
in those cities where boards of education have 
prohibited it. This infliction should be the 
very last resort after all other means have 
failed. And, if done at all, it should be done 
with the greatest care and discretion on the 
part of the teacher. 

8, By general custom the teacher has a 
right to suspend a pupil for continuous mis- 
conduct or open insubordination, from the 
privileges of the school for a single day, or 
long enough to consult the trustee in the 
matter. The writer is not aware that this 



Appendix. 47 

right to suspend a pupil has ever been estab- 
lished by a decision of the Department of 
Public Instruction. It has, however, receiv- 
ed the verbal sanction, with advice to the 
teachers, by a Superintendent of Public In- 
struction. 

g. There is another custom of long stand- 
ing, yet of doubtful utility, and, perhaps, 
of questionable right ; it is the practice of 
detaining a pupil after the school has closed, 
as a penalty for a delinquency in conduct, or 
to learn a neglected lesson. If detained at all, 
it should be only for a few moments. There 
is a point of time beyond which the detention 
of a pupil may merge into a trespass. The 
teacher should be careful in this matter. 

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS. 

It must not be forgotten that while the 
community has recognized rights in relation 
to the common school, while the school as a 
whole has rights, and while the teacher 
has rights — so, too, each individual pupil, 
high or low, belonging to this family or 



48 New York State School Laws. 

to that, has the same inalienable rights, 
common to all, that cannot be restricted or 
abused without the perpetration of a great 
wrong. 

1. Children have a right to plenty of fresh 
air to breathe. However imperfect the 
means of ventilation may be, there are al- 
ways doors and windows in the school-house, 
and the teacher is in part responsible for any 
abridgement of this right. 

2. Children have a right to perfect physi- 
cal comfort at all times. This is the first 
condition of study. This is secured by pro- 
per seats, proper position of the body, free- 
dom to change position, whenever dictated 
by inconvenience or discomfort, proper tem- 
perature of the body dependent upon the 
temperature of the room, or the particular 
locality of the pupil. A frequent or continu- 
ous trespass upon this right may result in 
disease or other physical injury, for which 
the teacher is responsible. 

3. A right to be cheerful and happy. This 
is the normal condition of childhood, and 



Appendix. 49 

is one of the conditions of all profitable 
study. Hence children are entitled to clean, 
neat, and pleasant surroundings in the school- 
room ; to kind, respectful treatment by the 
teacher at all times; advice, encouragement 
and assistance when needed ; and freedom 
from personal abuse — such as words of 
ridicule, humiliation or contempt. Those 
teachers who excel in their profession, whose 
favorable reputation makes them known be- 
yond the district of their labors, and whose 
services are always in demand, are those 
who have always been most careful of the 
rights of children under their care, and who, 
therefore, have merited what they have se- 
cured, a lasting place in the confidence and 
affections of their pupils. 

PARENT'S RIGHTS. 

It is the parent's right to have his children 
returned to him at the close of the term, with 
minds better educated and developed, with 
improved manners and morals, and with 
bodies uninjured in any respect by the re- 



50 New York State School Laws. 

strictions to which they have been subjected 
in the school-room. 

The parties responsible for these results 
are the district itself, whose representative is 
the trustee, the teacher, and the children 
themselves. 



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